This blog has been opened to chat about Caernarfon
(and the surrounding area's issues)

Friday, 6 July 2012

Bypass

This week we learnt that the new bypass is going to be the purple option. Woopee-do!

As much as I sympathise with the people affected with gridlocks. Can't these people see that if you divert people away from Caernarfon then businesses will suffer?

Just look at what happened to businesses in Bangor Street when they made it a one way system. Just ask the likes of Ty Bach Twt and Caernarfon Pine to name but two, about how diverting traffic away from their business, helped close them down.
Ask the garage in Abergwyngregyn, ask the garage in Dolydd, ask the former business owners at Felinheli how diverting traffic away from their business affected them.

Years ago they built a fly over through Caernarfon and many still say today that this was the first nail in our coffin. This bypass will be the final one so long as shopping and running businesses are concerned!
I bet the likes of Glan Gwna are over the moon that the road will fly over their peaceful holiday homes.

4 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Not everyone is a trader, some of us have to live in the town, which is more than a lot of the traders actually do. The locations you say have suffered have been closely bypassed but the reality is that if people want to come in to the town then they will. They need a good reason to do so and at the moment with the disgraceful way the council run the place it may well be that the only way to get people in is to funnel them via the dated and inefficient road system through the town. A serious and holistic approach needs to be taken to review the traffic management through the whole of the town, not just in the center, where the system favours the ease of access and egress for the council workers. Most tourists will get out of their cars in frustration rather than a desire to walk around looking at scaffold and boarded up shops. Make the town worthy of being visited and the people will come in droves. Leave it to rot and stagnate as the council seem happy to do and no one will come within miles of the place...even by accident. Simply put, before you can draw the moths in you need to have a light. :-)

I don't agree that people will still come to town if we make it difficult for them though. But as you rightly point out, we really need something to attract them here in the first place and at the moment we haven't.

I've never lived in Caernarfon, but am a North Wales resident, and it still stuns me that a town which should be one of the most visited and recognised in Wales fails to take advantage of what it has.

The bypass makes sense, as it provides an opportunity for the town Centre to be reclaimed by people and not be dominated by cars and jams. The disgrace is that a proper bypass like this wasnt under consideration when they instead decided to relieve the traffic by cutting a gash through the heart of the town that made your high street a limbless stump. That road scheme probably has been a nail in the coffin of Caernarfon.

Caernarfon needs to look at how Conwy took advantage of its release from constant traffic after the Conwy Tunnel opened. I hope that once a bypass is in place - the concrete monstrosity of the 1970's scheme can be toned down and some of the lost links and cut off streets re-connected. Then there is a chance that Caernarfon can get its heart back.

One last comment - and I hope I don't offend, but having visited on occasions, and responding to the experience as a visitor (ag yn siaradwr Cymraeg) - I think Caernarfon does not come across as friendly as it should, and that a visible minority of the people give an air of hostility. Hearing the 'C' word with 'iawn cont (which seems to have become a Cofi Dre term of endearment) is unfortunately still very offensive for outsiders to hear - and gives an impression the town is 'rough'!

Im sure there are many issues to overcome, but I hope the people of Caernarfon can work together to make the most of the fantastic heritage they have. Hwyl

Personally and to be honest, the traffic jams at Caernarfon only happen for a few short weeks in summer and only for about an hour at most. We really don't know what a real gridlock is here in town and as always, we are making a mountain out of a molehill. This week for examle, sees the town free of traffic at peak times. The problem still remains that just like Conwy before us and places like Groeslon and Flinheli, Penygroes and Penmaenmawr, once we are by passed it will mean more business closing down. I haven't peronally been to cnowy for years.Bangor street is testimony to this as well with just a one way system installed. How many thriving businesses closed once they stopped traffic coming in?

Good points on the "terms of endearments" in town, It is truly shocking and needs addressing. It is certainly getting worse.